Goodbye To All That
by Tha Shadow 750
Summary: Harry falls through the Veil of Death. What happens there remains unknown, except that once again Harry has done the impossible and survived. But how has the veil changed Harry?


**Goodbye To All That**

**Author's Note:** This won't be set in the Yu-Gi-Oh world. This is set at the end of OotP.

**Chapter 1: **Mist and Veils

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Sirius yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

Time seemed to slow as Harry watched the second jet of light fly through the air towards Sirius. He started running. Try as he might he couldn't seem to go fast enough. Eventually he reached his goal and pushed Sirius out of the way. Time sped back up and Harry managed only to turn towards Bellatrix before getting hit by her curse. Slowly he fell backwards through the veil, his hearing numb and his mind uncomprehending. He distantly noted Hermione struggling in Lupin's arms and Sirius casting spell after spell at Bellatrix. Then it all went black. Seriously black. Not a shape of figure could be made out, not even the floor.It was over, Voldemort had won.

~~ Goodbye To All That ~~

Albus looked around as Hermione cried out, just in time to see Harry fall through the Veil of Death. His heart sank. Unlike the others, he knew of the prophecy and its contents. With Harry died all hope of stopping Voldemort's reign of terror. Bellatrix cackled madly and made to flee but was stopped when Dumbledore held out his hand. Then the impossible happened. The curtain of the veil rippled and started to flutter in a non-existent wind. The fluttering grew more and more powerful before the veil flew upwards revealing a lone figure standing in the archway. He was tall and thin, although not overly so. Around his neck hung a golden upside-down pyramid with the eye of Ra on one side. The man projected an air of confidence and power. It was not until the man turned his head, however, that the crowd were truly stunned. The jet black hair and emerald green eyes made the identity of the man unmistakable, it was Harry. Out of surprise Dumbledore let his hand drop and Bellatrix was released. She cackled and ran out of the room, Harry giving chase. She aimed a curse over her shoulder but Harry merely raised a hand and the spell failed before it could impact him. He leapt over his injured friends and headed towards the exit, just in time to see Bellatrix ascending in the elevator. He ran to the second elevator shaft and thumped the call button. The lift descended painstakingly slow and Harry forced his way in before it had even finished opening and hit the 'Atrium' button. As the Atrium came into view Harry ripped open the doors and leapt out, just in time to see a blasting curse impact the elevator, sending it plummeting as the charms holding it up failed. Anger welled up inside him, this was twice now that she'd nearly killed him. Whipping his wand over his head, Harry sent the strongest banishing curse he could muster at his opponent. Caught off guard, Bellatrix took the impact of the spell and was blown backwards into the fountain. She spat blood as she picked herself up and growled.

"My my my," She taunted, "it seems ickle Harry's finally grown a pair. CRUCIO!"

The curse flew threw the air and impacted against Harry before he'd even followed the change in conversation. Pain, unbearable pain, gripped him and he let out a yell as it became too much. Suddenly, the pain vanished.

"I'll give you one last chance Potter," Bellatrix called out, her voice cold now it lost her mockingness. "Surrender, roll over the prophecy, and I might let you live."

Harry let out a laugh before responding. "Sorry Bella dear, no can do. It smashed you see. All that hard work for nothing."

"No, you lie!" She screamed. "Accio prophecy! Accio prophecy!"

"Nothing's coming to you Bella because there is no prophecy, not anymore."

"No!" She screamed, "It isn't true! You're lying! Master I tried! Please don't punish me!"

"It's no use, he can't hear you here!" Harry laughed.

"Can't I Potter?" A voice whispered from behind him.

He spun and sent a stunner at the person behind him but Voldemort just batted it away with the back of his hand.

"So you lost me my prophecy did you boy?" He hissed as he slowly circled Harry. "All year I prepared this trap and you yet again defeat it. You have become-"

He was cut of as Harry threw a disarming hex at him, followed by a simple _incindeo_. With a twirl of his cloak the Dark Lord was gone, only to reappear behind Harry again.

"You are lucky I let you live for so long, but now it's time to die. ADAVA KEDAVRA!"

The sickly bolt of green shot towards Harry who ducked, allowing the spell to impact the fountain behind him, sending rubble everywhere as it exploded. Another curse, this one a sickly amber, caught him off guard. He stared at the curse as it sped towards him, fully aware that he could do nothing to stop it, when a golden centaur ran in front of him, a large crack appearing where the spell had impacted.

A loud booming voice broke the two from their isolated world, "You should have come here tonight Tom."

Both duellers spun to see Albus Dumbledore stood there, rage apparent on his face.

"Already most of your followers have been captured and now the world knows you're back. You failed Tom, again."

"Silence old fool!" Voldemort yelled, sending a killing curse at the ancient wizard. The golden centaur intercepted the curse, his arm thrust forward. Enraged Voldemort sent a strong blasting curse at the statue, quickly followed by a banisher. The centaur exploded and the pieces flew towards Dumbledore. With a wave of a wand , the water in the fountain rose up and crushed the golden shards mid-flight. It then took shaped, standing in front of the headmaster like an enraged dragon. Voldemort whipped his wand and a long trail of fire emerged, taking the form of a giant snake. He hissed at the snake at it struck forward, clashing with the water hydra. A disarming charm broke through the water and fire, catching Voldemort unawares, his concentration spent on maintaining the fiendfyre. His connect with his wand broke, the fiendfyre disappeared. Voldemort, however, merely threw out a hand and summoned his wand back to him. He twirl his wand, causing the water to form a bubble over the headmaster and freeze before looking for who had cast the spell. To one side stood Harry, wand in hand. The Dark Lord sent a quick bone-breaker towards him, however the ice dome covering Dumbledore exploded, intercepting the curse. A silvery spell impacted the ground at Voldemort's feet and suddenly stone roots burst through the floor and started to entrap the Dark Lord. Then he was gone. Bellatrix sent a blasting curse at Harry which one of the statue's witches intercepted before pinning her to the ground. Then Harry's head burst into pain. All around him he could feel the coils of Voldemort's mind inside of his, crushing his control and leaving him a spectator in his own body.

"Come then old man," He heard himself his, "let's see if you have what it takes. Finish us both now, be done with it. If death is nothing, kill the boy."

Suddenly Harry felt another presence in his mind.

"_Begone from this one."_ It commanded Voldemort. _"I invoke the powers of the shadow realm and banish you from this mind."_

Suddenly he felt the coils loosen as Voldemort was kicked screaming from his mind. The pain disappeared, along with the Voldemort and the sensation of the third presence. He was lying face down on the ground, having collapsed when Voldemort was forcefully evicted, and his glasses had come off. Pushing them on he saw several people staring as Voldemort reappeared, grabbed Bellatrix and vanished.

"He was here!" An annoyingly familiar voice yelled out. "Did you see him he was here!"

"If you proceed down into the Department of Mysteries, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, smiling grimly, "you will find several escaped Death Eaters contained in the Death Chamber, bound by Anti-Disapparation wards and awaiting your decision as to what to do with them."

He turned to Harry and his smile melted into worry.

"Are you all right, Harry?"

"Yes," said Harry, shaking so violently he could not hold his head up properly. "Yeah, I'm – where's Voldemort, where – who are all these people – what's –"

The Atrium was full of people; the floor was reflecting the emerald green flames that had burst into life in all the fireplaces along one wall and streams of witches and wizards were emerging from them. Dumbledore turned to Fudge.

"We can discuss that after I have sent Harry back to Hogwarts." He picked up a broken shard and muttered _Portus _under his breath.

"Take this portkey, Harry."

He held out the broken shard of statue and Harry placed his hand on it. He felt the familiar sensation of a hook being jerked behind his navel and the Ministry of Magic was gone from his vision.

~~ Goodbye To All That ~~

~~ Goodbye To All That ~~

**Author's Note: **That's right folks, a double update rolled into one, aren't I kind. In this chapter we've skipped over several things. Since Sirius didn't die, the problems with Number 12 don't exist, so that's skipped. Dumbledore picked up Harry anyway to ensure his safety. Recruiting Slughorn has been skipped too, just assume that went fine. As did shopping and various stuff. Anyone else notice Harry's birthday was skipped in the book? Also, THERE'S A TYPO IN THE BOOK! _"None of them was at the Ministry." _should be _"None of them were at the Ministry."_

**Chapter 2: **Slugs and Monsters

_Skip ahead a bit. Stuff happened and people did stuff. Now Harry, Luna and Neville are on the train together and have just seen off Romilda Vane._

"People expect you to have cooler friends than us," said Luna, once again displaying her knack for embarrassing honesty.

"You are cool," said Harry shortley, "None of them were at the Ministry, they didn't fight with me.!

"That's a very nice thing to say," beamed Luna.

"Say Luna," He paused and reached into his pocket before extracting a pack of cards, "What are these?"

She glanced over them before a smile broke out on her face.

"Oh so you got them? I was sure the Ministry security would try to steal them, they've been selling so well."

"Yes but what are they?"

"Oh, they're Yu-Gi-Oh cards, father designed them. It's based on legends of ancient Egyptian battles, we discovered a temple when hunting for a Crumple-Horned Snorcack and father decided to franchise it. There's even a muggle TV series. Fred and George help sell the trading cards to wizards, they're really into it."

"You're dad has his own muggle TV series?"

"Oh yes, it revolves around a young boy who solves an ancient puzzle and unlocks the powers of the shadow realm. The completed puzzle looks like an upside-down pyramid with an eye on it. It's actually based on the legend of the Egyptian Items, which are supposed to be able to control and manipulate shadow magic-"

Before she could finish talking the compartment door slide open and a breathless third-year girl stepped inside.

"I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter," she faltered, as her eyes met Harry's and she turned scarlet. She was holding out three scrolls of parchment tied with violet ribbon. Perplexed, Harry and Neville took the scroll addressed to each of them, whilst Luna merely airily plucked hers from the girl's hands, and the girl stumbled backwards out of the compartment.

_'Harry,_

_I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C._

_sincerely, Professor H.E.F. Slughorn'_

"Who's Professor Slughorn?" asked Neville, looking perplexedly at his own invitation.

"New teacher," said Harry. "Well, I suppose we'll have to go, won't we?"

"But what does he want me for?" asked Neville nervously, as though he were expecting detention.

"No idea," said Harry, not willing to announce his hunch without further proof. "Listen," he added, seized by a sudden brainwave, "let's go under the Invisibility Cloak, then we can avoid all the stairs."

When they reached compartment C, they saw at once that they were not Slughorn's only invitees, although judging by the enthusiasm of Slughorn's welcome, Harry was the most warmly anticipated.

"Harry, m'boy!" said Slughorn, jumping up at the sight of him so that his great velvet-covered belly seemed to fill all the remaining space in the compartment. His shiny bald head and great silver moustache gleamed as brightly in the sunlight as the golden buttons on his waistcoat. "Good to see you, good to see you! And you must be Mr Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood!"

Neville nodded, looking scared, whilst Luna smiled brightly. At a gesture from Slughorn they sat down in the only empty seats, Neville across from Harry and Luna. Harry glanced around at their fellow guests. He recognised a Slytherin from their year, a tall black haired boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes; there were also two seventh-year boys Harry did not know and, squashed in the corner beside Slughorn and looking as though she was not entirely sure how she had got there, Ginny.

"Well now, this is most pleasant," said Slughorn cosily. "A chance to get to know you all a little better. Here, take a napkin. I've packed my own lunch, the trolley, as I remember it, is heavy on Liquorice Wands, and a poor old man's digestive system isn't quite up to such things... pheasant, Belby?"

Belby started, and accepted what looked like a half a cold pheasant.

"I was just telling young Marcus here that I had the pleasure of teaching his Uncle Damocles," Slughorn told Harry and Neville, now passing around a basket of rolls. "Outstanding wizard, outstanding, and his Order of Merlin well deserved. Do you see much of your uncle, Marcus?"

Unfortunately, Belby had just taken a large mouthful of pheasant; in his haste to answer Slughorn he swallowed too fast, turned purple and began to choke.

"_Anapneo,"_ said Slughorn calmly, pointing his wand at Belby, whose airway seemed to clear at once.

"Not … not much of him, no." Gasped Belby, his eyes streaming.

"Well, of course, I daresay he's busy," said Slughorn, looking questioningly at Belby, "I doubt he invented the Wolfsbane Potion without considerable hard work!"

"I suppose ..." said Belby, who seemed afraid to take another bite of pheasant until he was sure that Slughorn had finished with him. "Er … he and my dad don't get on very well, you see, so I don't really know much about ..."

His voice tailed away as Slughorn gave him a cold smile and turned to Luna.

"Now, _you_, Luna," Said Slughorn, "I happen to know your dad has a successful marketing franchise and his own newspaper?"

"Yes, sales of the Quibbler have gone up greatly since Yu-Gi-Oh's release. We're planning on including a free pack of cards with the most recent issue – advertising you know?"

"Yes, yes. A good plan. And you're mother? I happen to know she was one of the survivors of the Little Sister project. Eleanor, was here name?"

"Yes, she's dead now, an experiment gone wrong."

"A shame I'm sure, she was a good women."

Zabini gave a tiny little cough that was clearly supposed to indicate amused scepticism. An angry voice burst out from behind Slughorn.

"Yeah, Zabini, because _you're_ so talented … at posing!"

"Oh dear!" chuckled Slughorn comfortably, looking round at Ginny who was glaring at Zabini around Slughorn's great belly. "You want to be more careful, Blaise! I saw this young lady perform the most marvellous Bat Bogey Hex as I was passing her carriage! I wouldn't cross her!"

Zabini merely looked contemptuous.

The afternoon wore on with more anecdotes about illustrious wizards Slughorn had taught, all of whom had been delighted to join what he called the 'Slug Club' at Hogwarts. Harry could not wait to leave, but couldn't see how to do so politely. Finally the train emerged from yet another long misty stretch into a red sunset, and Slughorn looked around, blinking in the twilight.

"Good gracious, it's getting dark already! I didn't notice that they'd lit the lamps! You'd better go and change into your robes all of you. Well, off you go, off you go!"

As they were walking back to their compartment Harry was struck by a brainwave … in a few minute's time Zabini was going to re-enter the Slytherin sixth-year compartment, where Malfoy'd be.

"I'll see you three later," he said under his breath, pulling the Invisibility Cloak over his head.

"But what're you – ?" asked Neville as Luna slipped under the cloak too.

"Later!" Whispered Harry, glancing at Luna who merely nodded before darting after Zabini.

The corridors were almost completely empty now. Nearly everyone had returned to their carriages to change into their school robes and pack up their possessions. As they reached the compartment Luna dug into her pocket and pulled out a bag of extendible ears. Selecting two, she tapped them with her wand and they took on the colour of the floor bellow. Soundlessly she handed on over to Harry before feeding her own under the door.

"So, Zabini," said Malfoy, "What did Slughorn want?"

"Just trying to make up to well-connected people. Not that he managed to find many."

This information did not seem to please Malfoy.

"Who else had he invited?" he demanded.

"McLaggen from Gyrffindor,"

"Oh yeah, his uncle's big in the Ministry," said Malfoy.

"– someone else called Belby, from Ravenclaw, Longbottom, Potter, Lovegood and that Weasley girl." Finished Blaise.

Malfoy sat up very suddenly.

"He invited _Longbottom_?"

"Well I assume so, as Longbottom was there."

"What's Longbottom got to interest Slughorn?"

Zabini shrugged.

A tap on his shoulder brought him back from his eavesdropping. Luna was reeling in her extendible ear whilst tapping an imaginary watch on her wrist. He nodded and began to withdraw his own extendible ear, he got the message; time to go.

"So what were you two up to under that cloak?" Neville asked, an eyebrow arched.

"What else would we do when we're alone together unseen?" Luna replied sincerely, causing Harry to blush and Neville to splutter.

"We were spying on Draco, Neville. That's all." Harry explained.

Harry and Neville quickly turned around as Luna shamelessly began to change into her robes. When she was finished they turned back around. Glancing at each other they silently came to a decision.

"Take it in turns changing under the cloak?" Harry suggested.

"Sure, don't know how I'd of managed without that cloak of yours." Neville chuckled.

Harry pulled out his trunk and threw the cloak back over him. He got his robes from his trunk but then reached a bit deeper in and grabbed the pyramid he had found around his neck in the Department of Mysteries last year. He threw his robes on and then hung the item from his neck. As he handed the cloak to Neville he heard Luna gasp and, looking up, saw her eyes affixed to the item hung around his neck. Anything she might have been about to say was cut of when the train jolted to a halt and muttered cursing came from the blank space besides him.

**Author's Notes:** I would like to write more (I usually aim for an average of 2000 words per chapter), but I find myself unable to without running into the next chapter. Don't worry, this isn't going to be a cannon rewrite.


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